''Death of the Fox'' is a 1971

historical fiction novel Historical fiction is a literary genre in which the plot takes place in a setting related to the past events, but is fictional. Although the term is commonly used as a synonym for historical fiction literature, it can also be applied to other ty ...

written by George Garrett, the first of three books set within the historical context of Elizabethan

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. the novel explores the relationship between

Sir Walter Raleigh Sir Walter Raleigh (; – 29 October 1618) was an English statesman, soldier, writer and explorer. One of the most notable figures of the Elizabethan era, he played a leading part in English colonisation of North America, suppressed rebellion ...

and Queen

Elizabeth I of England Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was List of English monarchs, Queen of England and List of Irish monarchs, Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. Elizabeth was the last of the five House of Tudor monarchs and is ...

, and his subsequent fall from royal favour for alleged conspiracy against

James I James I may refer to: People *James I of Aragon (1208–1276) *James I of Sicily or James II of Aragon (1267–1327) *James I, Count of La Marche (1319–1362), Count of Ponthieu *James I, Count of Urgell (1321–1347) *James I of Cyprus (1334–13 ...

. It was the first of 3 books set in this period; all three (''Death of the Fox'', ''Entered from the Sun'' and ''Succession'') were later combined into ''The Elizabethan Trilogy'' in 1998. According to

WorldCat WorldCat is a union catalog that itemizes the collections of tens of thousands of institutions (mostly libraries), in many countries, that are current or past members of the OCLC global cooperative. It is operated by OCLC, Inc. Many of the OCL ...

, the book is held in 1,571 libraries, the most widely held of any of Garrett's books.

Reviews

Described by Kirkus Reviews as "the novel is locked into its own period and reference so that the effect of this tale of life and the abyss is removed and derived rather than immediate and shared. Still a ''tour de force'' of its kind."

References

Historical novels 1971 American novels Cultural depictions of Elizabeth I {{1970s-hist-novel-stub